Player Ratings: Brazil 6-2 Portugal

BRAZIL

Júlio César – 6: Surprisingly wasn’t as busy as he would have expected considering Portugal’s attacking penchant. Can’t be faulted for the first goal but he failed to close down the angles to deny the second by Simão. Other than that, only made a few routine saves.

Maicon – 8: Very lively down the right flank. Always provided assistance but also never left his duties at the back unattended. Scored a gem of a goal and help set-up another.

Luisão – 8: Solid as a rock at the back. Always held firm and stood his ground to put in strong tackles and interceptions. Didn’t let anyone get past him in one-on-one, shoulder-to-shoulder situations.

Thiago Silva – 7.5: Showed good judgment and reading of the game and collaborated well with Luisão. They never got in one another’s way and always knew where each other would be to cover any gaps.

Kléber – 7.5: Wasn’t at all troubled by Ronaldo or Simão. That could largely be because he never roamed forward and he had his flank covered at all times.

Gilberto Silva – 7: As always, hung quietly deep inside his own territory. Barely heard his name mentioned, hardly saw his face on camera, but that does not mean he wasn’t in the contest. A typical unsung hero-styled performance.

Anderson – 7: Very hardworking. Combined well with Gilberto Silva and he was the player to link the backline to the midfield with his bursting runs forward from deep.

Elano – 8: Wasn’t really involved offensively in the first half. He was more aggressive after the restart and was encouraged to push forward more. Scored without question the goal of the night with a stunning, bending, curling shot from a tight angle. Extra marks just for that!

Kaká – 8.5: Took a while to get going but once he started his engines, he went straight up to fifth gear. Completely dominated the midfield and almost every single Brazilian attack went through him. Made two assists, including a brilliant dribble past two defenders to set-up Luis Fabiano’s second goal.

Robinho – 8.5: Another swashbuckling performance. Almost everything he did on the pitch came off perfectly. A shame he didn’t get on the scoresheet but he set-up two goals and was involved in another. Disappeared towards the end of the game but he had already inflicted his damage.

Luís Fabiano – 9: In typical predatory style, had three shots on goal and tucked away all three of them. But he did more than just that.  He was constantly fighting for the ball upfront, holding it up, creating spaces and even teed-up Maicon’s goal.

Substitutes:

Adriano – 6.5; Mancini – 5; Dani Alves – 6; Josué – 5; Alex – 5; Marcelo – 6

PORTUGAL

Quim – 4: Although most of Brazil’s goals were spectacular, he was at fault for at least three of them with his poor positioning. Never looked confident and his command over his defenders just collapsed.

Bosingwa – 5: Charged forward every chance he had. Perhaps too recklessly! Left his right flank exposed time and time again and had no answers to stop Robinho. Did occasionally drift into the middle to help out his center backs.

Pepe – 4: Outmuscled by Robinho for the first goal and failed to stop Luis Fabiano for the second. Unable to impose himself at the back and barely won any of the critical tackles.

Bruno Alves – 4.5: Had no equilibrium with Pepe whatsoever. Caught out of position numerous times and had to rely on his teammates to cover for him. Made the assist Danny’s opening goal, though but that is scant consolation.

Paulo Ferreira – 4: Didn’t attack as much as Bosingwa and yet his flank looked even more exposed. Four of the six goals came through his side of the pitch.

Deco – 4.5: Completely anonymous in the first half. Other than his through ball which fed Simão’s goal, he had almost nothing significant to show.  

Tiago – 4: Showed a few good touches of the ball early on and was very involved in attack. But once Brazil wrestled control of the game, he was nowhere to be seen.

Maniche – 6.5: Fought hard all across the midfield. Tried his best to clean up at the back and help his forward line at the same time. Full marks for his work rate.

Simão – 6: Drifted in and out of the game. When he was on the ascendancy, he looked very menacing every time he had the ball as he took advantage of the spaces left open by an out-marked Ronaldo.

Danny – 6: Made an immediate impact with his very first goal for his country after just four minutes. But he failed to build on that and he was barely allowed another shot on goal after that. Was always easily muscled off the ball and fell to the ground far too often.

Ronaldo – 5.5: Made a sizzling start but quickly overshadowed by Robinho and Kaká as the game progressed. Eight goals scored on the night and not a single one from him… not even an assist. His bag of tricks simply did not work against a sharp Brazilian backline who always knew what he was up to.

Substitutes:

Nani – 6.5; João Moutinho – 6; Almeida – N/A; César Peixoto – N/A

--KS Leong, Goal.com